This new bass is built following the preferred specs and wood combination of Megadeth's founding bass player, who apparently also plays the bass for a church!

While the four-string version had a red burst color, the new David Ellefson Signature Kelly Bird V features a blue burst with black center stripe gloss polyester finish. Other than the extra-string and blue finish, this new bass follows the same configuration as the four-string Kelly Bird IV.

The uniquely shaped "Kelly Bird" body of the guitar is made from basswood. This reverse body shape offers a nifty mini-cutaway for easier access to the upper frets.

The body is paired with a bolt-on bound single-piece maple neck. It has 21 jumbo frets and has a scale length of 34". Other specs of the neck include a 12" to 16" Compound radius and 1.75" nutwidth. The neck has an oiled finish, usually found on instruments that are built for speed.

For the electronics, David Ellefson still opted for his favorite EMG active bass humbuckers - the EMG HZ40B for the bridge and EMG HZ40N for the neck - probably lengthened to work with the wider 5-string bass format. Instead of going for the usual 3-way pickup selector, Jackson wired the pickups to a blend knob, which lets you use one or both pickups, and specify the mix level of both pickups. Other controls include two volume knobs for each humbucker and an active 3-Band EQ that lets you adjust the bass, middle and treble frequencies.

Other hardware include Jackson tuners and high mass bridge. All the hardware come in black finish, to match the black-painted headstock and fretboard markers.

The David Ellefson Signature Kelly Bird V Bass has an MSRP of just under $742. For more information and other details, visit Jackson Guitars.